>I've been hearing a lot of talk lately about rich .Net clients replacing HTML/ASP on the web for business applications. I tend to agree that a rich client is preferable when it can be used. However, wasn't this a promise of Java? It has had several years to mature, but it seems it is still used primarily on the server. Why will .Net succeed where Java failed?

Java didn't do as well as it could have because it was sold on a false premise (cross platform support) that it could never really live up to.

The Java UI also is not that flexible and better than the alternatives in HTML it still is not as nice or easy as say building a VFP/VB type application.

The other thing that has changed is that there are now way more options for distributed development than there were in Java's heyday. Java also lacked the tools to easily access NET content - yes there were basic classes but they were missing important pieces like SSL support, proxy config etc. which are crucial to build connected applications. I screwed around with Java for quite a while before deciding it wasn't worth the effort even for brower style plug-in applets. It was lacking XML support, decent HTTP support and was so boxed in by the sandbox it was impossible to do just about anything but draw the UI.

.NET is different in that it provides a very, very rich model to address all those shortcomings. A lot of this is timing - as I said the developer community now is way more open to distributed solutions than it was 2 or more years ago and the server infrastructure - especially if you are using .NET on both the front end and the backend is tons easier than it was then.

Finally I think Java has never been an 'average' developer's environment, but focused primarily on the C crowd and needs. I think .NET leans toward the other end (the 4th G languages like VFP/VB) while still providing all the power of a higher end development environment. The tools also make a difference - VS.NET is a big step up from any previous development environment especially non-Windows ones...